4. Explain how berserkers might have added to the Vikings’ barbarous image. 5. Explain why the conical helmet, as depicted in SOURCE2 , was useful to its wearer in battle. ANALYSE AND APPLY 6. Examine SOURCE3 . Describe the sort of evidence that the artist who created it would have needed to accurately draw Viking warriors. 7. Identify what SOURCE3 tells us about the variety of Viking weaponry in battle. EVALUATE AND COMMUNICATE 8. Evaluate SOURCES3 and 4 . a. Explain to what extent these two sources provide supporting evidence on what took place during Viking raids. b. Explain which source is the most useful for a historian studying Viking raids, and why. 9. Using evidence from SOURCES3 and 4 , propose why it was challenging to defend a community from a Viking attack. Answers and sample responses for this topic are available online.
LESSON 7.8 Who did the Vikings attack and raid?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • explain what happened in the Viking raids on Britain and Ireland • describe why there are conflicting views of the Vikings from historical sources.
Tune in In learning about the Viking attacks and raids, it is important that historians think about the sources of their information carefully. The Vikings did not have a detailed written language at this stage, so the information that we do have has usually come from other sources with their own biases. The remote Scottish island of Iona had a flourishing monastic order begun by St Columba. Sometime in the ninth century, the Vikings discovered its wealth and started a series of attacks. The monks recorded these in their annals.
SOURCE1 The Annals of Ulster list some of the attacks by Vikings on the monastery on the Scottish island of Iona.
802: Coluim Chille was burned by the heathens. 806: The community of Í, to the number of sixty-eight, was killed by the heathens. 825: The violent death of Blamac son of Flann at the hands of the heathens in Í Coluim Chille.
Coluim Chille = St Columba’s Í = Iona Discuss the following: 1. Should the Annals of Ulster be considered a primary source or a secondary source, and why? 2. What is the monks’ perspective (point of view) of the Vikings and how can you tell what that perspective is? 3. What conclusions can you draw about one aspect of the Viking Age from this source?
TOPIC7 The Vikings 179
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